I’ve never cared much for holiday movies. Most of them fall squarely into the musical, drama, or romance genres, and those typically aren’t my preferred genres. I do, however, always enjoy a good horror movie, and one of my good friends assured me that Black Christmas is the BEST holiday-themed horror movie out there. He did not specify which one, though, and there are three. So I watched all three and have no regrets (Well, maybe some regrets).
All three are very different films, each with something different to offer. The only common threads are the sorority house and the murderer, though interpretations of both vary heavily.
The Good: Black Christmas (1974)
When a mystery caller starts calling with dark threats, the sorority sisters at Pi Kappa Sigma ignore it. But when one of them goes missing and the calls continue growing more and more personal, Jess Bradford (played by Olivia Hussey) and her sisters search for the body and work with the police to find the killer, before it’s too late.
This one is a classic for a reason, and it holds up. The characters are interesting, and I found myself invested in their stories as the film went on. The performances are fantastic, particularly Margot Kidder and Olivia Hussey. The POV camera from the killer’s perspective was used in this film prior to its use in Halloween, and it creates a surprising amount of dread. Despite a lack of jump scares, the tension is high as the killer watches his prey in silence, waiting for the right moment. This movie is also funny as hell, and Ms. Mac and Barb provide some well-needed levity amongst the horror and tension. I was surprised, however, by how many of the kills take place off-screen, but the way the other characters react to finding the bodies was effective enough that you hardly notice. The ending is the quintessential horror ending: resolved, but the threat is still out there.
Unsurprisingly, this is the best of the three. None of the others hold a candle to it in terms of story, characters, and overall vibes. I will absolutely be adding this to my yearly holiday watchlist.
The Bad: Black Christmas (2019)
After a group of sorority girls play a prank on their rival fraternity, they start receiving threatening text messages. They go to the police, but are told they are overreacting and “boys will be boys.” The girls, led by Riley (played by Imogen Poots), are forced to fight off the killer themselves before they start to fall victim one by one.
This remake comes across like the original is a problem that needs fixing, and that problem is misogyny. The result is a surface-level think piece that feels the need to shoe-horn in as many social issues as possible with no real substance or anything real to say. The horror is put aside (in more ways than one with a PG-13 rating) with no desire to create interesting characters, a compelling villain, or creative kills. The writing is so ham-fisted that it comes across less like a serious exposé and more like an SNL skit. Even still, this movie has none of the humor of the original. Their attempts at humor come across as preachy and unrelatable, and despite a cast featuring Imogen Poots, Brittany O’Grady, and Cary Elwes, everyone looks bad here. There are many horror movies that have interesting things to say about social issues, but this film isn’t one of them.
I really did not like this one. I found the way it tackled issues like SA and women’s rights really distasteful and hard to watch, but overall, it just doesn’t have many redeeming qualities at all. I will not be watching this one again.
The Wacky: Black Christmas (2006)
On Christmas Eve night, a group of sorority girls gather for an intimate holiday gift exchange. Among the gifts is a yearly tradition: a gift for Billy, the serial killer who used to live in what is now their sorority house. Only this year, Billy has broken out of the psychiatric ward and it’s time for him to eat some cookies (if you know you know).
This film leans in hard to the campy side of slasher, and it’s just a ton of fun to watch. I absolutely do not think we needed a backstory for the killer from the original, but it’s such a wild backstory that it works here among the zaniness of everything else. The performances are over-the-top, but it was honestly fun to see stars from some well-known teen movies and TV from 2006 eat it in the most creative of ways. Speaking of deaths, they are disgusting, goopy, and holiday-themed. It’s definitely the goriest of the three but in an over-the-top surreal kind of way.
Unironically, I really enjoyed this one. It reminded me a lot of Silent Hill: Revelation in that it takes itself so seriously that it transcends the genre it’s trying for and becomes camp mostly by accident. I had a great time and I would definitely watch it again.
Which Black Christmas have you seen? If you’ve seen all of them, which one was your favorite?